Ever since then, the two have been great friends, and have been reunited in Foxborough with Francis arriving as an undrafted free agent and Belichick as a coaching assistant.

So far, having a friendly face around has been extremely helpful for Francis, though having his friend as a boss has been somewhat odd for him.

He didn’t see Belichick as a coaching prospect when he dropped his lacrosse stick and joined the football team last year as a long snapper, but Belichick’s football intelligence was immediately clear to Francis.

“It’s kind of weird. He’s a good friend and I know he’s never going to direct me on the wrong path or anything,” Francis said. “I take that and keep that. I will always respect him. I respect his job and I respect him as a friend.”

The other weird aspect is that Francis can’t tell where one Belichick ends and the other begins. He says that the two are almost carbon copies of one another.

“Steve, he’s a nice and steady guy. His dad is the same way; coach is the same way,” he said. “He’s stern, and Steve is the same way. They have a great way of dealing with things and they’re very smart. Can’t do nothing but respect that.”